(DEKALB COUNTY, Ga.) — The South River Forest, a swath of greenspace covering parts of unincorporated southeast DeKalb County, has been the site of correctional facilities, landfills, wastewater treatment plants, illegal dumpsites, truckyards, and a river with some of the worst contamination in Georgia.

The Atlanta Regional Commission points all of these facts out in their newly released report detailing recommendations for revitalizing, cleaning, and engaging the space for the community which calls it home.

Since January 2022, the ARC’s Steering Committee has worked to build consensus on how best to protect, connect, and activate the South River Forest.

The controversial Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, dubbed ‘Cop City’ by opponents, would be a relatively small chunk of the total project, which aims to unite 23 separate golf courses, lakes, recreation centers, and other greenspaces into an interconnected system of walking trails, rivers, and new ways to enjoy the old-growth forests local to the area.

Heightened scrutiny and criticism of the training center comes after the death of a protestor, Manuel ‘Tortuguita’ Paez Teran, who lost his life in an exchange of gunfire that the GBI said he started without warning.

The report focuses on themes including environmental justice, economic equity, and recreational opportunity for local residents.

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